vvanpo

IMDb member since January 2003
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    IMDb Member
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Reviews

Atlantis
(1913)

How do you review a film over a century old?
***Some spoilers to render this review a little entertaining***

I discovered this movie from the blog Centuries of Sound, a marvelous site devoted to exploring the evolution of sound recording year-by-year from the late 19th century. The blogger includes in his posting for a year some samples of films and the year 1913 included "Atlantis".

Atlantis is the earliest movie I have seen with a modern structure. It is well-shot and well-edited and doesn't lag (with a minor objection). It contains lots of good location shots in Berlin and New York (1913 is the first year I see horseless carriages heavily outnumber the horse-drawn ones). The special effects of the sinking of the "Roland" are wonderful and realistic. It's interesting that the source material of Atlantis came before the sinking of the Titanic.

A tour-de-force for its time.

It's the store line is where I draw the line and where I pose my question in the subject line. I have to assume Director August Blom is deadly serious in all the scenes he presents but brought forth much laughter to this modern man.

Let's start with the leading man, the good Dr. von Kammacher. The bacteriologist turns out to be kind of a rake and a flake.

He is anxiously waiting for the peer reviews of his study - standing by his mailbox like a boy waiting for his decoder ring. The letter arrives but the Dr. is driven into a funk after he reads his hypothesis is rejected for being too revolutionary. To compound matters, his wife suffers from a mental state (y'know the running around with scissors kind?) and has to be sent to the sanatorium forthwith.

It all becomes too much for poor Kammacher. His mother suggests he gets some R&R while she takes care of his three young children.

So begins Kammacher's journey- each leg takes him further away from his family. Along the way he becomes enamored with the dancer Ingigerd Hahlstroem. (He claims "partial" responsibility for his obsession with her).

And he has a brief fling with a young Russian Jewish woman aboard the Roland. It's the first time I see cigarette smoking used as an erotic device. I detest smoking but it's effective and movie-makers have been relying on it ever since.

Kammacher neglects to mention his wife or kids to either one. That and his petulance begins a long line of men in movies who wouldn't be leading men in real life.

Scenes that made me guffaw:

Ingigerd's dance. That statue in the background at the sculptor's loft. Blom's total ignorance of North American geography where the Adirondacks look like the Canadian Rockies.

And don't turn away for a minute or you'll miss the scene that takes place in the title place. It might prompt the question why did the chicken cross the road in Atlantis?

28 Weeks Later
(2007)

Stupid Kids
I liked "28 Days Later..." and while not exactly eagerly anticipating a sequel but if one came out, I would definitely see it.

Regrettably, I didn't like it as much as the first.

One of my favorite movies, "Aliens", contains a line to the effect "In case you haven't been keeping up with current events, we're getting our (bleep) kicked!" That's my main problem with "28 Weeks Later". There are too many situations where the characters aren't keeping up with current events. A savage disease had just ravaged mankind on the island of Great Britain where the infected had maniacally spread the disease by attacking the non-infected. I'd think that would serve ample warning to those trying to repopulate the island.

But, no. And the Harris children were the worst.

The story revolves around the Harris family. Father Don (Robert Carlyle) and Mother Alice (Catherine McCormack) found themselves stuck in England but the children Tammy (bright-eyed Imogen Poots) and Andy (shaggy Mackintosh Muggleton) were able to be shipped off to a refugee camp in Spain.

The opening sequence shows Don barely escaping an attack from the infected but Alice is not so lucky. Don makes to an area in London where, after all the infected have starved to death, a NATO operation led by U.S. troops begins the process of starting over again. It is here that he is reunited with his children.

Trouble starts when Andy craves a memento of Mom. So the he and his sis sneak off the area that's supposedly a fortress to keep out the infected should they happen to still roam the country. These two should have been scared straight about the risks they are taking.

That's just the first instance and it's not just with the kids. To me this spoiled the movie. I need this movie to give me sense and sensibility because it sure needs to overcome its gloominess.

Another pet peeve is the many scenes shot with a jerky hand-held camera. That style is played out.

Something Wild
(1986)

Skipping out on the Check
The movie opens with Charlie (Jeff Daniels), a business man just finishing his lunch in a neighborhood deli. It appears he doesn't have enough cash to cover the check. Instead of reaching for his plastic, he furtively glances around to see if the coast is clear and ducks out of the place without paying. Unbeknownst to Charlie, "Lulu" (Melanie Griffith) had been observing him from the other side of the deli.

"Lulu" is decked out in what passed for cool back in the 1980's with a brunette page-boy cut. She follows him out to let him know that she saw what he did. He tries to deny it but can't escape her accusation. Thinking he's in it, Charlie is surprised when "Lulu" says she doesn't work for the deli and then offers him a ride back to work.

When she heads in the opposite direction, thus begins their cavorting across the Middle Atlantic Seaboard.

We're supposed to get titillated as thoroughly modern "Lulu" puts straight-laced Charlie into humiliating situations. It's all right when the two consenting adults get a little kinky in a motel room but off-putting when they wriggle out of paying the check at a family-style restaurant. Stealing the labor from hard-working people is not my idea of "wild". Charlie is a jerk.

"Lulu" is a loony jerk. She starts to pass off Charlie as her husband. First to her mom (who blithely tolerates the charade) and then at her conveniently timed 10-year high school reunion (an event used later by another too-cool-for-its-own-good movie "Grosse Pointe Blank").

The "marriage" comes as a surprise to "Lulu"'s real husband (Ray Liotta)who's just been recently released from prison for armed robbery. Ray gives the two a welcome comeuppance and shows them how nasty crime really is.

I can't add any irony by writing that I first watched this by sneaking in the movie theater. No, I don't do that sort of thing. I taped it off of cable TV and assure you I view it strictly in the privacy of my own home.

So I got to thinking why I taped it when I don't like it very much and conclude that 20 years ago I was on a reggae kick and the soundtrack of "Something Wild" does prominently feature reggae. The closing credits start with the treat of Sister Carol performing her version of "Wild Thing".

Low Blow
(1986)

Who the Heck is Leo Fong?
I own a collection of Beta videotapes with recordings I made back in the mid- to late-1980s. I've been watching through them and I came upon a volume that led off with something called "Low Blow". For the life of me I couldn't remember anything about this movie. Why did I record it? The third name listed on the opening credits told me. I had a thing for Akosua Busia back in the day.

The first name listed, Leo Fong, told me to expect some sort of chopsocky effort. Sorry for the stereotype. The first scene proved me wrong of sorts. It is an unintentional comedy.

Leo's character, Joe Wong, notices something amiss at the local greasy spoon. Three perps, armed with shotguns and the like, are holding up the joint. Joe, like any sane person, tucks his handgun in the back of his pants, strides in there and proclaims "Where's my ham sandwich?!". Naturally after that he soon gets the drop on all three and bang! bang! bang! problem solved.

Next scene is the obligatory chewing out by the brass at the police station. Here is a prime example of "Low Blow"'s greatest weakness of which there are many. Mr. Fong's total lack of screen writing skill. I'd be hard pressed to think of any scene with dialogue lasting more than a minute of two. Here the cops make their empty threats. Joe responds with the excruciatingly wrong-headed "I save a couple of lives in there.", takes back his gun and heads out the door.

It turns out Joe is not even a rogue cop but a private eye! To describe him, he's got a hang-dog expression that Mr. Fong steadfastly refuses to change throughout the movie. The lone exception is when he splays a malevolent grin while whacking the baddies' Mercedes with a 2x4. He's built more like a truck driver than an athlete. And he's old. I pegged to be in his 40s but Mr. Fong is 10 years older. His office is a pig sty as is his home that from all appearances is located near the municipal dump.

One day on the mean streets of San Francisco, wealthy businessman John Templeton (alright Troy Donahue!) witnesses Joe handily dispatch a couple of yahoos who had mugged a purse off an old lady. Then and there Mr. Templeton decides that Joe is his man to rescue his daughter from a religious cult.

It seems she has given up all her worldly possessions to follow the word of Yarakunda (you think I'm making this up?) played by a heavily-sedated Cameron Mitchell. But the real power is held by Yarakunda's right-hand girl, Karma (Busia). She holds the flock in a compound surrounded by armed guards led by Billy Blanks of "Tai-Bo" fame to keep them in and strangers out. Busia gives the most over-the-top performance I have seen. She chews scenery like the bag of candy she always carrying.

After visiting, and escaping from the compound, Joe decides on a plan. Put together a motley crew to infiltrate the compound. The switch-blade fighter from the barrio, Sticks the numchuck expert, a huge mound of lumpenflesch named Fuzzy, a boxer even older than Joe, etc. Together they'll take on machine gun-wielding men. Of course, in these types of movies the enemy is always utterly incompetent. There's even a showdown between Blanks and Fong that almost reaches the absurdity of John Cusack vs. Benny "the Jet" Urquidez in "Grosse Pointe Blank".

Well now I know why Akosua Busia flamed out after the Color Purple. That always brings me tears, "Low Blow" brought me tears of laughter.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964)

Still brilliant after 40 years
Many is the instance of a show that upon first viewing dazzles and charms but after it has been put snugly into the bed of our memories, when it reawakens in our eyes after a long sleep, it looks shopworn and grizzled.

What joy it is to behold the exceptions, the exceptional supernovas such as "Dr. Strangelove". Direction, writing and acting are all top-notch.

And what acting! Sterling Hayden as General Ripper who takes sexual dysfunction to a whole unimaginable level. George C. Scott as General Turgidsen who always can see the silver lining in even the darkest mushroom cloud. Topping this stellar list is the incomparable Peter Sellers in a triple role. His phone conversations as President Muffley with the unheard Soviet Premier is a classic in comedy that leaves me in stitches.

Stanley Kubrick directs the three story lines with a sure hand but yet also inspiring. I still get tingles in my spine watching Slim Picken whooping and hollering as he rides the a-bomb like a bull before triggering Armageddon.

Like the subtitle says, you've got to laugh to avoid the despairing truth that man loves his precious pettiness even while the world is literally blowing up around him.

Pumping Iron II: The Women
(1985)

Slice of the '80's
I taped this movie not too long after it was released on a Beta videotape. So I have available a peek back to the mid-1980's via my sister's Beta player.

I can't remember what motivated me to tape "Pumping Iron II" in the first place. I'm pretty sure it wasn't for posterity's sake. Most likely it was that female bodybuilding presented a new culture I was totally unaware. And I had an intuition that the presence of Bev Francis was going to revolutionize that culture from the "feminine ideal" to pure muscle tone.

Or maybe it was the scenes. The hilarious one with the judges trying to tabulate the score. The tender one with the implied marriage proposal. Or Carla Dunlap's comforting conversation to Bev. While some scenes have participants act like they are aware of the camera, overall the film has enough real human drama to be worth you while.

Plus there's the bonus of the cheesy 80's music. Only songs from Art of Noise and Grace Jones stand the test of time.

Braveheart
(1995)

Evocative but Troubling
After watching Braveheart, I can't help but wonder how much of an influence starring in "Mad Max" was on Mel Gibson's film making. Maybe the then young actor landed a role that matched his view of good and evil just through good luck. In "Braveheart", the suffering icon Gibson plays is William Wallace, who fights to liberate the Scots from the tyranny of their English rulers and the treachery of the Scottish Lords.

Wallace matches cruelty with cruelty but that's alright because he's on the side of freedom. At least in "Braveheart" the times and the enemy are more in tune with barbarous methods than that of "The Patriot", which I detest as nothing more than a Revolutionary War-era "Death Wish". Patrick McGoohan is delicious as the English king Edward Longshanks who treats his allies as callously as his enemies. And I must admit my props to Mr. Gibson for treating warfare as the messy, horrific affair it is although he seems to revel in it.

"Braveheart" has many pluses. It is very convincing in taking you back in time. The stark landscapes of the Scottish countryside are lovely.

Scarface
(1983)

Pacino Vortex
21 years after release, I finally seize the opportunity to watch "Scarface" in its entirety. It's all about Pacino. He's why I rated it as high as 8 stars and he's why I rated it as low as 8 stars. With the direction of Brian de Palma and the script of Oliver Stone, the stars align to allow Pacino to blaze like a meteor.

But oh that accent! "Scarface" was made long enough ago that many of the roles of Latin characters were filled by Italian-American actors which of course includes Pacino. I have a co-worker who occasionally affects an accent (he's of Mexican heritage himself) to get laughs. I discovered he got it from Pacino here.

But Pacino can't be denied his use of the f-word. In fact, it should be decreed that only Al Pacino can say the f-word. With "Scarface" and continuing with fare like "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Heat", no one can bark the f-word as juicily as Al Pacino.

Mad Max
(1979)

Go on to "Road Warrior"
Like many, I didn't see "Mad Max" until after the next two in the series. Unsurprisingly, it suffers from a much lower budget and, surprisingly in the version I have, it suffers from the dubbing of American English-speaking actors. I see Mel Gibson but never hear him.

"Mad Max" is set before the nuclear holocaust that precedes "Road Warrior". But it depicts a dissolute and mean society. The cops drive powerful vehicles but they're stationed at the "Halls of Justice" that looks more like an abandoned warehouse that a governmental building.

"Mad Max" is in essence another revenge movie. It does show some of George Miller's famous road chase action that made "Road Warrior" a classic.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977)

It's still magical.
One of my favorites and still compares more favorably than the big budget films made today. Opening scenes hop around the globe as evidence mounts that man is not alone in the universe before the film centers around one man in Ohio who is about to go through a unimaginable experience.

The special effects hold up well after 27 years especially the depiction of the aliens. There are no quick edits and I even prefer the film stock better than the flat video medium used nowadays.

Mr. Spielberg succeeds once again to bring human perseverance and warmth into the story. His is a pleasing "What If?" scenario that makes our first mutual encounter with being from another world a wondrous thing.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(2004)

Hail Hermione
I had the pleasure of watching "POA" in an IMAX theater. It made the scenes such as Harry riding the hippogriff breathtaking.

I've seen and enjoyed the first two movies of the "Harry Potter" series. I haven't read one word of the books. But after seeing "POA", I now want to read the books. More so, I'm curious to know how author J.K. Rowling will finish the series. I read speculation on the fate of Harry Potter and it got me to speculate too.

I believe Emma Watson's performance as Hermione will influence Ms. Rowling in the direction she takes the rest of the books. Hermione shows off "grrl power" far in excess of the often-played clip of her punching Malfoy. Ms. Watson makes me believe that Hermione's power will take her to unexpected heights.

Donnie Darko
(2001)

Unsentimental
One aspect of "Donnie Darko" I wish to comment on is writer/director Richard Kelly's unsentimental treatment of Donnie's mental illness. Sure the audience is led to believe Donnie's visions have some validity but they are visions of a man in a skeletal rabbit costume who impels Donnie into destructive acts. Jake Gyllenhaal appears to be channeling Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" when he is under the spell of Frank the Rabbit. When his parents (wonderfully played by Holmes Osborne and Mary McDonnell) learn the extent of his illness from Donnie's doctor, it is heartbreaking. But they handle the news, and Donnie, with aplomb.

And yet in spite of his problems, Donnie still manages to fit in high school - most of the time. He participates in class discussion, he hangs out with his friends, he teases his little sister, he even finds a girl friend. Mental illness is a lonely condition. What is Mr. Kelly's implication of the teenage condition?

Love and Death
(1975)

Bergman meets the Marx Brothers
Vintage Allen comedy with skit-like scenes that are his forte. It's been commented that Woody spoofs Ingmar Bergman here but he also plays out a lot of scenes as if they're set in Freedonia instead of Czarist Russia.

"Love and Death" has aged a bit. The "Love" part is more aptly about adolescent sexual escapades than heartfelt and soulful love. "Death" still zings with Allen's irreverent best.

Kudos to Woody for giving Diane Keaton as many one-liners as himself. Still good for many laughs.

Can I leave now?

Man on Fire
(2004)

Insult to Mexico
Denzel Washington plays a man whose soul has been leached out of his body by the demands of his job (the back of his hand shows the scars of cigarette burns. Sustained only by the bottle, he travels to Mexico City to go to a friend and former comrade in arms (the always good Christopher Walken) to seek a job. Walken suggests going into the bodyguard business. There's an epidemic of kidnappings for cash in the country and protection is a growth industry. Washington's character, Creasy, hooks up with a wealthy Mexican business who has a darling daughter played by Dakota Fanning to protect.

Now Dakota does a fine job of acting but even with a blonde American mother she's about as Latin as her namesake.

When Dakota does eventually get kidnapped, Creasy goes Death Wish on the corrupt Mexican citizenry. You see little Pita (Fanning) has brought a bit of humanity back to Creasy so his logic tells him it's acceptable to get medieval on those he feels responsible.

The producers thanked Mexico City for being a special place. If I was the city, I wouldn't invite them back.

Van Helsing
(2004)

Trepidations Mainly Allayed
The local film critic panned this movie. The audience attending laughed derisively. One of the things he complained about was the saturation of special effects. I was concerned about this. I love special effects. I love monster movies. But when I saw "Hellboy" a couple of weeks before, I had my fill. It simply failed to engage me. I was fearing the same with "Van Helsing".

In promotions for the movie, director Stephen Sommers appeared really enthusiastic about making it. It shows in the final product. "Van Helsing" is good, campy fun. I didn't mind all the special effects. The storyline managed to work out all the "relationships" between the classic movie monsters totally tongue in cheek.

Lay back and enjoy.

Anywhere But Here
(1999)

Natalie Forlorn
When I happened upon this film, I couldn't help but compare Natalie Portman's character here with her character in "Heat". Both are struggling with the vagaries of life. The fathers for both are jerks. The mothers pose challenges from the opposite ends of the spectrum. In "Heat", Mom is on her last nerve and not there for the daughter. In "Anywhere But Here", Mom (Susan Sarandon) is all nerves and constantly there for the daughter, much to the daughter's annoyance. Mom leaves small town Bay City Wisconsin for the bright lights of L.A. to pursue the dream of Daughter's acting career of which Daughter wants no part.

The big difference between the two roles in the daughter's level of maturity. Natalie was but a girl in "Heat" while she is a young lady in "Anywhere But Here", more mature than her mother. Ms. Portman does a fine job of portraying a character undergoing changes as she takes on more responsibility.

One surprise for me was this movie came out after Ms. Portman portrayed Padme in the "Star Wars" episode. "Anywhere But Here" seemed that much of a segue for the evolution of Natalie Portman's characters' battle with life.

The Alamo
(2004)

Touching performance from Billy Bob
I enjoy historical dramas and I have to include "The Alamo" on the list. It made me read up on a bit of history about the Alamo and was surprised to learn no one knew for sure the actual events of the fall of the Alamo. The surviving members of the Mexican Army gave varying accounts. So the filmmakers here had to naturally engage in some speculation as to what transpired. I found their choices plausible.

The reason Mexico lost a large portion of its territory was due in large part to it and its army being led by a megalomaniacal dandy.

I want to give praise to Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of David Crockett, America's first celebrity. It is sensitive, smart and brave.

One sad consequence of this movie's release has been to bring forth from the slime loathsome racists to infest imdb's message boards. To them, US crimes against humanity is justified because of all the great stuff Americans eventually invented. Ironic really in the context of the Alamo as the "Texians" were seeking an independent nation apart from the US as well as Mexico.

L.A. Confidential
(1997)

Seamless
Entertaining pulp fiction filled with the denizens of the underbelly of 1950's Los Angeles. "L.A. Confidential" has a gripping, gritty storyline propelled with a cornucopia of compelling characters. A web of intrigue woven so tight that you'll want to watch over and over again to enjoy the creation of every strand.

Some of my favorite movies are those that use narration as an effective device. "L.A. Confidential" is no exception. It uses narration to set up the plot with the twist that the narrator is a columnist for a gossip rag who is a party and a part to the goings-on.

Ten lines? When did this start?

Hidalgo
(2004)

Dime Novel
When a movie proclaims it is "based on a true story", this sets a Pavlovian response in many people to get them to believe that what they are about to see is what really happened. I see it as the marketing ploy it is. Sure I believe there was a Frank Hopkins and that he was renowned for long-distance horse racing. But that doesn't mean he ran in a 1000-mile race over in Arabia for lucre.

Oh, I liked this movie. It got me to thinking about how my tolerance level for accuracy varies from movie to movie. For "Hidalgo", what annoyed me was Viggo Mortensen's blue eyes in the head of Frank Hopkins, supposedly the son of an Indian chief's daughter. Whenever I was taught about dominant/recessive genes, the example always used was that brown eyes are dominant over blue eyes. Frank Hopkins couldn't have had blue eyes.

On the other hand, I didn't care if the scenes in Arabia were mainly figment's of the writer's imagination. For all I know, Arabia may have been much more brutish in the 1890's than was depicted in the film as it was still under the thumb of a decaying Ottoman Empire. The film depicts a race in Arabia so we have to see many Arab characters. One scene showed Omar Sharif as Sheik Riyadh reading a dime novel about the Wild West. That's what the moviemakers have made here as well.

The once scene this American would demand complete accuracy for is the massacre at Wounded Knee. What they showed there better have actually happened.

Despite Mr. Mortensen's blue eyes, he is believable as a laconic cowboy. Zuleikha Robinson as the sheik's daughter is beautiful and Omar is fun. And let's not forget the horse. It gets plenty of screen time and close ups to earn its title billing.

Good adventure.

Radio Days
(1987)

Great Storytelling
"Radio Days" is Woody Allen in his element. It's chock full of funny anecdotes and quirky characters lovingly told. Mr. Allen is a narrator reminiscing about his childhood in New York during the late 1930's and early 1940's. He connects his stories with the music and programs heard on the radio. He not only shows how the radio played a part of his fictional family's lives but goes behind the dial to tell the stories of the radio performers themselves.

Mr. Allen strives successfully to place the viewer right in that time period. His attention to detail is superb.

I highly recommend it.

In America
(2002)

Anachronisms take away from Acting
I came to this film with some baggage. My favorite media critic raved about "In America" especially the two girls while the movie critic in my hometown newspaper was lukewarm about it. I had to see what the fuss was about.

I frequently take my Dad along with me. When I tried to describe the time "In America" was set in, I couldn't be sure. I'm still not sure.

Oh, the acting is truly wonderful from everyone. The younger girl (Sarah Bolger) is a little darling as expected but the older girl explodes with emotion in a couple of powerful scenes.

Unfortunately the sets and props they work with just don't jive. It's like the budget wouldn't allow the crew to make a realistic 1982 so they'll just feature E.T. prominently to announce "Hey! It's 1982!". Another commentator here ably points out the anachronisms. One thing I expect from my movies is to transport me to another time and place. I was around in 1982. "In America" isn't there.

Cold Mountain
(2003)

Movie passes but not Mountains
Starting in I had a trepidation that "Cold Mountain" was going to be sympathetic to the South. It takes place in the fictional town of Cold Mountain in western North Carolina. The townfolk are constructing a church in anticipation of the arrival of the new pastor (Canadian Donald Sutherland) and his daughter (raised in Australia Nicole Kidman). Sparks eventually fly between the daughter, Ada, and a carpenter, Inman (Englishman Jude Law).

The romance between the two is supposedly the main plot point sustaining the movie but it's really to demonstrate the futility and eventual desperation of the Confederacy. When war was announced, the menfolk of the town were enthusiastic to join the fight. Three years later, some of them - those that haven't died - have had their fill of fighting and try to return home as deserters.

Here's where the dramatic tension comes in the film. The South had set up a Home Guard, a force granted powers to ensure deserters and the people who sheltered them were punished. Naturally the Home Guard abused those powers and that's what we see in "Cold Mountain".

I read one negative review regarding the lack of African-Americans in the film. It is true their are very few scenes with slaves but I let is slide because the scenes take place mainly in the Appalachians where slavery was not common. Indeed it gets me to thinking why the people there would want to fight for a system that was against their interests.

What did confuse me were the mountains. The Appalachians are ancient and rounded. The film was shot in Romania and its craggy Carpathians. I expected to see troikas in the mountain snow scenes.

Lastly a reviewer remarked the Renee Zellweger appeared to be channeling Granny Clampett. It was meant as a insult but I like that. I now think of her character as Granny Clampett's Granny.

Never Cry Wolf
(1983)

Quiet Majesty
"Never Cry Wolf" is a good reason why I like the movies. Human characters, compelling story, warm humor and breathtaking scenery (with the Atlin area in Northwestern British Columbia filling in for Alaska) combine to make it a favorite of mine.

"Tour de Force" doesn't seem quite the right turn of phrase for Charles Martin Smith's performance as the scientist Tyler for such a low-key character but he is the heart of the movie. It's especially noticeable when I associate Mr. Smith as Toad in "American Graffiti". His scene with the wolves and caribou is amazing and primal.

Samson Jorah is marvelous as the Inuit Mike ("He says, 'Great idea!'")

What a treat it is to watch compared to all the noise and quick-cut editing that dominate modern movies.

Miracle
(2004)

Rousing
I've never been a fan of hockey. But I always have been a fan of the Olympics, even the winter Olympics and would watch the hockey events there. So I was a living spectator, on TV of course, of the US Men's Hockey team's miracle run to the gold.

"Miracle" gave me some new surprises about what it took for Herb Brooks (masterfully played by Kurt Russell) to prepare the team. The first surprise comes with the simple passage of time. I was only 23 years old at the time of the Lake Placid Olympics so I wouldn't remark on the young age of the players. But now, wow!, average age of only 21.

I figured the team had to work very, very hard to prepare and the film shows the rigors of Brook's training, both physically and mentally but I had no idea he had only seven months to mold them into a team.

Sports shows always show last second winning shots of events, but I discovered how important a couple of last second tieing shots were to keep the Dream alive.

"Miracle" shows as its denouement, as expected, plenty of action from the game against the Soviet Union. The movie takes you right on the ice and you experience the battlefield ballet that is hockey. Really intense and exhilarating.

My only quibble is it treats the Gold Medal game against Finland as an afterthought. As any sports fan knows, sentimentality rarely meets reality. I think for the US team to come back after such an emotional charge to win again is the grand finale of amazing feats they performed.

Austin Powers in Goldmember
(2002)

Benny Hill skits
This is not a movie but a series of comedy skits. Plotpoints are presented only to tack on a series of off-color and gross-out gags.

I had a few laugh-out-loud moments. Two highlights are the opening sequence and the young Austin at graduation ceremonies.

hmmm....those didn't have Mike Myers in them.

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